have you heard this

this song touch my heart deeply...please take the time to listen HERE
let me know what you think.
~type to you soon~

suitcase love

i will be replicating this once i can get back to my antique shopping this spring. i miss my sunday strolls with my antique friend (she's not an antique...she's super chic and crazy fun)...but this little number will serve as an inspiration for some shopping very soon. "super chic and crazy fun friend"...i get first dibs on the suitcase finds:)

~type to you soon~

source: vintage junky and country living

penzey's...a delicious experience

spent the weekend with my stl besties...thought you might want to "meet" them...they are some of my most favorite people in the whole world.

while i was there we went to penzey's. it is a spice store that i wrote about HERE

let me tell you...it was perfection. it was in a old building in a quaint part of a st. louis suburb. hardwood floors, wood crates, organization, and the smell...oh my! before we went i had prepared mr. dc for the trip. he knew that i had cleaned out the spice cabinet before we left. here is what i purchased while we were there.

just some of the bottom rack in the above picture

i bought these spices in bags, (you will see a picture below) because if you purchased in the bag you got a larger quantity for a cheaper price. i knew i had jars at home that would hold the spices. the store had all kinds of mixed spices, dressing mixes, and rubs.

i reused some of my existing bottles and removed the label from the bag that it came in so i could have the information for the spice

that sandwich sprinkle is straight from above...

these bags show how the spices came packaged

i would love to eventually have the entire spice cabinet be a penzey's spice cabinet

in the store they had all kinds of recipe cards for the taking, highlighting certain spices or blends to use in the recipe.

penzey's also has a catalog that has so many amazing recipes. i highly recommend subscribing HERE. and if you need spices let me tell you, penzey's is the place to buy. i found the company to have extremely reasonable prices and the quality is superior! i would buy the spices in the bag if you are going to have it shipped. and if you live near a penzeys, CHECK HERE, jump in your car and go NOW! what is holding you back. it will make you hApPy:)

one more little tidbit...a dash of penzey's almond extract in your coffee is deliciously decadent...thanks for the tip nanc:)

~type to you soon~

loving this room

do you?

i just love the ceiling.

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photo credit: windows viewer

fabric cone trees

i don't know if you all have seen these but they are super cute, economical, and gorgeous. check them out over HERE.

~type to you soon~

penzey's

my birthday was a couple of weeks ago. two of my out of town besties sent me some spices in the mail that were absolutely the best spices that i have ever used. i really did not think that the brand of spice, better yet the freshness of the spice would make that much of a difference but IT DID!!! i would HIGHLY recommend you trying PENZEY's spices. click HERE to go to their site. my friends sent me the baking box and the grilling box that are highlighted on the home page. i think that you will love it and never go back. can't wait to head to st. louis and visit the penzey's store. these would make a great christmas gift for anyone on your list!

~type to you soon~

we have a new store charming charlie in our area and i am thrilled. talk about a girls dream. it is this really fun accessory store and it is grouped by color, perfect for the slightly organizationally obsessive person that i am. i just loved it. here is the gift that i gave myself today.

~type to you soon~

gigi's cupcakes

we visited gigi's when we went on a road trip to visit a friend last week. let me just say...oh my. it was a child's fantasy (and an adults too)! my cupcake is the hostess knock off in the top left corner, my zillion times better than a hostess and i love hostess. the orange ones top my list of favorite childhood treats. these cupcakes however were mounded with icing, except mine, it was drenched in chocolate ganache. YUM! i have heard of and seen so many of these little cupcakeries popping up all around. what a fun business. probably would not be too beneficial for the waist line though:) do you have a cupcake shop near you? have a great saturday.

~type to you soon~

paisley flops

ignore the feet...focus on the flops...$2.99...are they not so cute...anything pink paisley is cute...found at the infamous christmas tree shoppe

~type to you soon~

cracker house

here is our new "old" house for our crackers. they really used to have it right. airtight storage for something that gets soggy. what a great idea! so much for those that think we get smarter with each generation. what do you think?

~type to you soon~

the old ice chest

this is one of my favorite pieces of furniture
it is an old ice chest from my mothers side of the family

i just adore the carving in the piece

i did some more organizing yesterday and grouped all of my platters in the top door

it is a perfect size to hold the platters
the bottom of the chest is divided so storage of items is really easy
this is one of those pieces that i will always have
until one of children beg to take it to their home
(that's how i ended up with the piece)
i would love to see your favorite furniture piece
take a picture and email it to me
~type to you soon~

red shutter

i just love this!

what do you think?

photo credit: inspired room

vintage dress me up

photo credit: my sweetheartmoments

the plate in the above picture is a southern living dress me up plate. the company had a line of theses "dress me up" products that i liked very much and still use very often.

a few years ago i came across this line of vintage dress me up items. don't you just love the scalloped edges? this is one of the many items in this line and they can be purchased at thrift stores, estate sales, and antique fairs for a fraction of the cost of the southern living dress me up line. just goes to show you in my estimation vintage is always better:)

~type to you soon~

glitter egg

heather, the chicken coop lady, came through again with another lovely gem.

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stuart weitzman...can you make some for me?

i knew the day would come...when the lovely cheeks(other girl in the house who just turned 6) would have nicer shoes than me...i just didn't think it would be this soon. i really wish these came in my size. so stuart, can you help a girl out? cheeks has a very generous gigi(grandma) who seems to come up with designer items in girls sizes quite frequently from her two hot spots in sunny florida, marshalls and tj maxx. if stuart can't do anything for me, maybe gigi can.

~type to you soon~

the cat's meow

i had the privilege of doing some shopping with some of my dearest friends this weekend. we went to this great store in Ladue, MO called the cats meow. the store is devoted to creating personalized gifts that are just the cutest things that i have ever seen, well that might be a slight exaggeration but the stuff was pretty darn cute!

we got some great ideas while we were in the store and i will definitely be duplicating some of them. after we visited the store we stopped by homegoods and picked up some white plates on the clearance rack for 2.99-7.00(an awesome rectangular platter). later that evening after all the kiddies were in bed we cranked up the cricut and made some really nice pieces that were just like the ones that we had seen earlier for pennies compared to the price the store was asking. i think that is why i really enjoy the cricut and my embroidery machine so much. money saving, yet the quality of the gift is not compromised.

how do you purchase gifts? is quality and uniqueness important for you? do you by something that you like or that the person you are giving the gift to would like? i used to always by what i liked, i am really trying to refocus and choose something that i think they would like.

life is always a growing process isn't it?...even in the gift giving area:) ~type to you soon~

adorable christmas garlands

you just have to head over HERE and read about these Christmas garlands. i think that i am going to make some to use next year on our way to the sunshine state this year. i really like the felt one and the pom pom one. oh i can't decide...the paper one is so cute too! what's a domestic girl to do? which one is your favorite?

~type to you soon~

a new friend and a new recipe

last night we were invited to our new friends house for a piano recitial. these new friends are wonderful people and i can just tell that we are going to be great friends for a really long time, and not just because they can cook. they made this amazing olive bread that turns out to be from one of my favorite bloggers. it really was some delish eating. you should try it!

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2007/06/olive_cheese_br/

~type to you soon~

this is cool

i have been looking for one of these. check it out here http://www.keeperofthehome.org/2009/05/ice-cube-tray.html and enter to win.

~type to you soon~

i want this...

i know that i should not want, but i really do! i am planning on trying to duplicate this somehow. i will see what i can come up with. i just love this. what do you think?~type to you soon~